Q&A with Florida Goalie Mary-Sean Wilcox on Nicaragua
Service Trip

After spending one of her final summer weeks in Nicaragua
with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA),
Mary-Sean Wilcox spoke with Lacrosse Magazine to provide an inside
look at her experience teaching lacrosse to the local children
through Lacrosse the Nations (LTN). To learn more on how to get
involved with LTN, visit lacrossethenations.org.

What inspired you to take this trip to
Nicaragua?

A couple of my friends had done it the year before and had a
great time. I have been interested in doing a mission trip like
this, so it was a great opportunity for me. I did not feel like I
was giving up one of my last free weeks; it was more of me having
the opportunity to help grow the game of lacrosse and forming a
bond with these children through a common love of the game.

Is this your first trip overseas with the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, being involved with Lacrosse the
Nations?

Yes, this was my first trip with FCA and being involved with
LTN. I think the partnership between the two organizations worked
out great. LTN works with the local children by giving out
scholarships to a couple of the older children who are seeking to
go to college. The requirement of the scholarship is for the older
students to become coaches to the younger children. Being a coach
requires them to teach lessons to the younger children with the
help of lacrosse. They relate the game to their day-to-day life.
For example, one lesson that was taught was about being a good
teammate, which consists of passing to each other and being
supportive of one another; the coaches related this to helping
their family at home with chores, etc.

"Since the group of kids playing
varies from elementary school to high school girls and guys, we
mostly played with just sticks and tennis or rubber balls, though
that did not keep the game from being very
competitive." (Photo courtesy of Mary-Sean
Wilcox)

Where did you stay?

We stayed at a hotel while in Nicaragua, though one night we
split up into groups and went to dinner at several families' homes.
It was a great experience. They were very welcoming and the
homemade food was delicious!

How would you describe the playing
conditions?

The field we played on was mostly hard dirt with rocks and glass
spread out all around, but for the locals, it wasn't anything
different.

How would you describe the children's drive to play
despite the obvious field conditions and/or lack of
equipment?

The kids have picked up the game of lacrosse tremendously. Since
the group of kids playing varies from elementary school to high
school girls and guys, we mostly played with just sticks and tennis
or rubber balls, though that did not keep the game from being very
competitive. On the last day, the guys on the trip restrung a bunch
of broken sticks and fixed one the goals. They also taught some of
the children how to string their own sticks.

Did the language barrier make teaching the sport
difficult?

I personally thought that knowing little to zero Spanish was
going to set me back from the connecting with the kids. At the end
of the day, I realized all I had to do was grab a stick and find a
new friend to play pass with. That's all that mattered. A lot of
the kids knew the basics of lacrosse, but we taught by example.
Additionally, we had their coaches and LTN leaders who translated
for us.

How would you describe the way the kids
played?

The kids certainly put their own spin on the game. For example,
when I was playing 1v1 with a kid, he bounced it between my legs,
ran right by me, got the ground ball and went to goal. It was one
of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

Through this program, you split your time between the
cities Chiquilistagua and La Chureca. What did you do in each
city?

In Chiquilistagua, we spent our time at a public school, where
we played soccer, lacrosse, or just ran around with the kids on
their recess time. While at La Chureca, we were at Club Hope, which
is a youth program in a neighborhood. Here, we stuck strictly to
playing lacrosse.

How did you travel between the cities?

We took a van that fit about 15 people. It was about a
thirty-minute commute in addition to the Nicaraguan traffic. There
were tough road conditions at times. The locations we went to
already had equipment for the kids to use.

"At the end of the day, I
realized all I had to do was grab a stick and find a new friend to
play pass with." (Photo courtesy of Mary-Sean
Wilcox)

How much equipment did you bring for this service
trip?

On behalf of Mrs. Bolewicki, Brian's mom, we each brought down
extra Shootout for Soldiers T-shirts. Additionally, a group of
seniors on an Ohio high school lacrosse team wanted to help out
some way. They decided to each donate a stick, which they engraved
their name and number on it. At the end of the week, we gave out
the sticks as prizes to kids who had improved and worked hard
throughout the week we were there. We also brought down about
thirty lacrosse balls.

How many kids did you teach each day?

At Club Hope, there were about thirty kids during the sessions,
ranging from fourth grade to 12th grade. While in Chiquilistagua,
we played with about thirty kids while they rotated through their
recess at school.

Describe a typical day during your service
trip.

A typical day for us was waking up around 7 a.m. to travel to
the public school in Chiquilistagua, where we played for about
three hours. Following lunch, we either went back to the hotel to
change or nap. Then we would go to Club Hope in La Chureca and
spend about three hours there. We did our best to split the time
between the two locations when they had time available for us to
come help out.

What type of drills did you lead?

We usually followed the lead of their coaches and either
demonstrated the drills or took part in the drills. We practiced
give and go's, passing on the run, pressuring out on defense and
having the attack find the open player. We also played a lot of
scrimmages throughout the week.

What did you like most about Club Hope?

While we run LTN out of Club Hope, we don't run the Club itself.
It's just a safe space for kids to be a part of our program. They
offer other programs besides lacrosse. The thing that I liked
most about Club Hope was that the kids were always so excited and
ready to play lacrosse. Furthermore, the children learned life
lessons though playing on an organized team; little things like
that we take for granted. It also teaches the kids how to sacrifice
what you wanted to do for the better of the team and to work
together toward a common goal.

"I would definitely want to help
grow the game in Nicaragua." (Photo courtesy of Mary-Sean
Wilcox)

The kids lit up just to have you all there. How happy
were they to have Americans visit their city to teach
lacrosse?

They were especially excited to play against us and for us to
play hard against them. In every activity, we strived to challenge
them to become better players. At the end of the week, the kids
were all very thankful and are hoping we come back to play with
them next summer.

What is the "Nicaraguan way" of playing
lacrosse?

I would say that the Nicaraguan way of playing lacrosse was a
tough style of game that did not include any padding equipment. It
resembled more of a men's game than a women's game.

What did the kids teach you that you can bring back to
Florida lacrosse?

I'd say when they bounce the ball between their opponent's legs,
as a way of getting around the defender. That's a new trick I
picked up on.

After visiting Nicaragua, do you hope to be a part of
growing the game there in some way after college?

Yes, I would definitely want to help grow the game in Nicaragua.
The people are great and always welcoming. I think it would be good
to donate to Lacrosse the Nation to help with the opportunity for
more children to receive scholarships and possibly having Nicaragua
create a lacrosse team for the World Games.

If there was one simple thing a lacrosse fan, parent,
player, etc. could do to help grow the game in Nicaragua, what
would that be?

There are plenty of ways to help grow the game in Nicaragua. By
going to the Lacrosse the Nations website, you can help by donating
money, old equipment/sticks, T-shirts, etc. LTN offers many ways to
fundraise for the kids. In addition to going to our website
and donating, one of the best ways to get involved with LTN is to
run a "Scoop for Loot" campaign.

What would you say was your favorite moment being in
Nicaragua?

I think my favorite part of the trip was when we each got to
hand out a stick as a reward to the kids. To see their faces light
up when they were the ones chosen was the best part for me. One kid
that I will never forget was Andre. He was a little boy, who on the
last day that I started teaching some stick tricks to, he picked
them up right away. It was a lot of fun to see him eagerly wanting
to learn more. He was a lot of fun and always down to bust out some
dance moves as well!